Auto-ventilated outerwear

ABSTRACT

An outerwear clothing article is disclosed. The outerwear clothing article may have an outer shell and at least one vent forming a passage through the outer shell. The at least one vent may have a closure element movable between a first position at which flow through the vent is substantially unrestricted, and a second position at which flow through the vent is restricted by the closure element. The outerwear clothing article may also have a sensor configured to generate a signal indicative of a temperature inside the outer shell, and an actuator controllable to move the closure element between the first and second positions based on the signal.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure is directed to outerwear and, more particularly, to an article of outerwear clothing having automated ventilation.

BACKGROUND

Some sporting activities are performed in extreme environments and require a range of effort from a participant that can make the sporting activity difficult or even uncomfortable for the participant. For example, skiing, hiking, and hunting can take place in cold environments and involve periods of high-energy expenditure (e.g., traversing a ski slope, hiking uphill, or traveling to a tree-stand or ground blind under heavy load) as well as idle periods of low-energy expenditure (e.g., riding a lift up the ski slope, resting or hiking downhill, or waiting in the tree stand or blind). During the times of high-energy expenditure, the participant's body temperature can rise making the participant uncomfortable and causing the participant to perspire. During times of low-energy expenditure, the participant's body temperature drops, again making the participant uncomfortable. When the idle periods of low-energy expenditure closely follow the times of high-energy expenditure, the body temperature of the participant can fall to even lower levels due to evaporative effects of the perspiration, thereby making the participant even more uncomfortable.

Existing outerwear is designed to help alleviate some of the problems discussed above. In particular, existing outerwear often includes manual vents that can be opened or closed by the participant to help maintain a desired body temperature. Although effective, this type of outwear can also be time consuming and disruptive to the current sporting activity. In particular, the participant must be constantly vigilant about monitoring the body temperature and opening or closing the manual vent. For this reason, the manual vents are often only opened or closed after the body temperature of the participant has already reached uncomfortable levels (e.g., after the participant has already started to perspire or is already chilled). In addition, the amount of cooling provided by the manual vents may be inadequate for some situations.

One attempt to address the problems discussed above is described in U.S. Pat. No. 7,120,938 that issued to Ichigaya on Oct. 17, 2006 (“the '938 patent”). In particular, the '938 patent discloses a cooling suit for allowing comfort of an operator. The cooling suit includes a cloth part having an upper portion made of a highly air-permeable material, and a remaining portion made of a substantially air-impermeable material. Provided at a lower area of the remaining portion are circular air outlets and corresponding fans for forcibly extracting air-streams from within the cooling suit. In this configuration, outside air is introduced into the upper portion of the cooling suit and drawn by the fans down through the lower area and out of the air outlets in a manner substantially parallel to the wearer's body surface so that the wearer's body is cooled. The fans are powered by a battery pack attached to a belt of the wearer and manually activated via a switch on the battery pack.

Although perhaps an improvement over conventional outwear, the cooling suit of the '938 patent may still be less than optimal. For example, the cooling suit may always be open to ventilation and, accordingly, may result in too much cooling for some applications. In addition, the cooling suit still requires manual activation of the system to obtain desired cooling. Further, electrical power lines that extend from the belt-located battery pack to the fans may be cumbersome and prone to damage.

The present disclosure is directed to overcoming one or more of the problems set forth above and/or other problems of the prior art.

SUMMARY

One aspect of the present disclosure is directed to an outerwear clothing article. The outwear clothing article may include an outer shell and at least one vent forming a passage through the outer shell. The at least one vent may have a closure element movable between a first position at which flow through the vent is substantially unrestricted, and a second position at which flow through the vent is restricted by the closure element. The outerwear clothing article may also include a sensor configured to generate a signal indicative of a temperature inside the outer shell, and an actuator controllable to move the closure element between the first and second positions based on the signal.

Another aspect of the present disclosure is directed to a method of cooling an outerwear clothing article. The method may include generating a signal indicative of a temperature within an outer shell of the outerwear clothing article. The method may also include automatically opening at least one vent in the outer shell based on the signal.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIGS. 1-3 are pictorial illustrations of exemplary outerwear clothing articles;

FIG. 4 is a pictorial illustration of an exemplary disclosed vent that may be used in conjunction with the outerwear clothing articles of FIGS. 1-3; and

FIG. 5 is a diagrammatic illustration of the vent of FIG. 4.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIGS. 1-3 illustrate exemplary disclosed outerwear clothing articles 10. Outerwear clothing articles 10 may include, for example, a jacket or coat (shown in FIG. 1); insulated pants (shown in FIG. 3), coveralls, or bibs; footwear (not shown); or other outerwear known in the art.

With respect to the embodiment of FIGS. 1 and 2, outerwear clothing article 10 may include, among other things, an outer shell 12 forming an upper body portion 14 having a front 14F, a back 14B, a left torsal side portion 14L disposed between front 14F and back 14B, and a right torsal side portion 14R diposed between front 14F and back 14B opposite left torsal side portion 14L. Outer shell 12 may also form a left sleeve 16L connected at left torsal side portion 14L, and a right sleeve 16R connected at right torsal side portion 14R. In some embodiments, outerwear clothing article 10 may also include a hood 18, if desired. Hood 18, if included, may be integral with upper body portion 14 or selectively detachable. Outer shell 12 may be fabricated from any material known in the art, for example an air impermeable material, a waterproof or water-resistant material, a breathable material, an absorbing material, another material, or a combination of any of these materials. Outer shell 12 may also be provided with features commonly found in related clothing articles, for example zippers, draw-strings, pockets, liners, etc.

With respect to the embodiment of FIG. 3, outerwear clothing article 10 may include, among other things, an outer shell 20 forming a lower body portion 22 having a front 22F, a back 22B, a left pant leg 24L extending from lower body portion 22, and a right pant leg 24R also extending from lower body portion 22. In some embodiments, outerwear clothing article 20 may also include an upper body portion (not shown), if desired, for example a portion that covers only a chest portion (bibs) or a portion that covers most or all of the wearer's upper body (coveralls). Similar to the embodiment of FIGS. 1 and 2, outer shell 20 may be fabricated from any material known in the art, for example an air-impermeable material, a waterproof or water-resistant material, a breathable material, an absorbing material, another material, or a combination of any of these materials. Outer shell 20 may also be provided with features commonly found in related clothing articles, for example zippers, draw-strings, pockets, liners, suspenders, etc.

As shown in each of FIGS. 1-3, outer shells 12, 20 may be provided with one or more vents 26. Vents 26 may be located in strategically beneficial locations. For example, with respect to the embodiment of FIGS. 1 and 2, vents 26 may be located at an upper chest area on front 14F, a lower back area on back 14B, at one or both of left and right side torsal portions 14L, 14R, or at an intersection of hood 18 with back 14B. With respect to the embodiment of FIG. 3, vents 26 may be located at a back-of-the-knee area within left and/or right pant legs 24L, 24R, at an inner thigh area (not shown), or at another location. Vents 26 may be located at any location where selective ventilation of the location may be desired by the wearer of outerwear clothing article 10.

As shown in FIG. 4, vent 26 may include a closure element configured to selectively establish a flow passage 28 through outer shells 12, 20. In the disclosed embodiment, vent 26 may be a rotary type element having a closure element 30 concentrically located within an outer cover 32. In this configuration, closure element 30 may be movable (e.g., rotatable relative to outer cover 32) between a first or flow-passing position at which flow through passage 28 is substantially unrestricted, and a second or flow-blocking position at which flow through passage 28 is restricted or completely blocked by closure element 30. Closure element 30 may be movable to any position between the first and second positions to vary a size of passage 28 and/or a restriction on a flow of air passing through vent 26. Closure element 30 and/or outer cover 32 may be fabricated from, for example, a plastic material (e.g., polyethylene, rubber, or another material), a corrosive-resistant material (e.g., stainless steel, aluminum, or another metal with or without a corrosive-resistant coating), or another material known in the art. In some embodiments, a seal (not shown) may be disposed between closure element 30 and outer cover 32, if desired.

FIG. 5 illustrates vent 26 in exploded view. As can be seen in FIG. 5, vent 26 may include an actuator 34 operatively connected to closure element 30, a controller 36 in communication with actuator 34, a power supply 38, and a sensor 40. In this configuration, controller 36 may be configured to selectively cause actuator 34 to move closure element 30 between the first and second positions utilizing power from power supply 36 based on signals from sensor 40.

Actuator 34 may include, for example, a direct current continuous electric motor 42 that is connected to closure element 30 by way of a drive train 44. Actuator 34 may be configured to rotate drive train 44 in a first direction at a continuous speed and/or with a continuous force when supplied with a positive current, and rotate drive train 44 in a second direction at a continuous speed and/or with a continuous force when supplied with a negative current. Alternatively, electric motor 42 may be a stepper-type motor, if desired, such that drive train 44 is driven by a discrete amount in a particular direction each time that a corresponding positive or negative current is applied to electric motor 42. Drive train 44 may include a single shaft that directly connects electric motor 42 to closure element 30 or also include one or more gears (e.g., a planetary gear set) that together connect an output of electric motor 42 to closure element 30 in a desired manner (e.g., at a different speed, with a different force, and/or in a different rotational direction).

Controller 36 may include means for receiving signals from sensor 40, for comparing the signals with threshold values, and for selectively activating actuator 34 based on the comparison. For example, controller 36 may include a memory, a secondary storage device, a clock, and one or more processors that cooperate to accomplish a task consistent with the present disclosure. Numerous commercially available microprocessors can be configured to perform the functions of controller 36. It should be appreciated that controller 36 could readily embody a computer system capable of controlling numerous other functions. Various other known circuits may be associated with controller 36, including signal-conditioning circuitry, communication circuitry, and other appropriate circuitry. It should also be appreciated that controller 36 may include one or more of an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field-programmable gate array (FPGA), a computer system, and a logic circuit configured to allow controller 36 to function in accordance with the present disclosure. Thus, the memory of controller 36 may embody, for example, the flash memory of an ASIC, flip-flops in an FPGA, the random access memory of a computer system, or a memory contained in a logic circuit.

Power supply 38 may be a battery, for example an alkaline battery, a lithium ion battery, or another type of battery known in the art that selectively supplies power to actuator 34 when allowed to and/or commanded to do so by controller 36. Power supply 38 may be dedicated to supplying power to only a single actuator 34 associated with a single vent 26 or, alternatively, to multiple actuators 34 associated with different vents 26. If power supply 38 is used to provide power to multiple actuators 42, wires (not shown) connecting power supply 38 to actuators 42 may be disposed within outer shells 12, 20 or within other layers of outerwear clothing article 10, as desired. In one embodiment, power supply 38 may be rechargeable and connected to a charging inlet 46 (shown in FIG. 1). Charging inlet 46 may, in turn, be selectively connected with a power adapter (not shown) that plugs into an a wall outlet, with a USB cable (not shown), or with any other type of adapter or outlet.

Sensor 40 may embody, for example, a temperature sensor configured to generate a signal indicative of a temperature within outer shell 10. Sensor 40 may be located at any desired position relative to the remaining components of vent 26 such that a temperature at a particular location within outer shells 12, 20 may be detected. For example, sensor 40 may be directly exposed to an interior of outer shells 12, 20, at an interior side of vent 26, and/or in communication with a flow path within outer shells 12, 20. The resulting signal generated by sensor 40 may be directed to controller 36 for further processing. It is contemplated that each vent 26 may be provided with a dedicated sensor 40 (as shown) or, alternatively, that multiple vents 26 may rely on signals from a common sensor, if desired.

In one embodiment, the components of each vent 26 may be packaged together as an integral module within outer cover 32. In particular, outer cover 32 may provide a housing that is connectable to a mounting platform 48 on which the remaining components of vent 26 may be located. In this configuration, mounting platform 48 may be air-permeable and fixedly connected to outer shells 12, 20, for example by way of stitching. Outer cover 32 may then be removably attached to mounting platform 48 to provide an enclosure that protects the remaining components. Accordingly, the routing of wires within outer shell 10 may not required in this embodiment. It should be noted that other packaging arrangements may also be possible.

In a particular disclosed embodiment, vent 26 may also be provided with a fan 50. Fan 50 may be disposed between actuator 34 and closure element 30, and driven by actuator 34. For example, motor 42 may be connected to drive both of closure element 30 and fan 50 by way of a planetary gear drive (not shown) associated with drive train 44. Specifically, a sun gear (not shown) may be connected in parallel with fan 50 to a shaft of drive train 44 that is directly driven by motor 42, and a ring gear (not shown) may be connected to closure element 30 and driven by the sun gear via one or more sets of planet gears (not shown). In this configuration, a first duration of motor activation may function to rotate closure element 30 toward the flow-passing position until a first end-stop (not shown) engages a portion of outer cover 32 and/or mounting platform 48, and subsequent activation of motor 42 may function to rotate fan 50 at high speed for active ventilation. Alternatively, motor 42 may be deactivated after engagement of closure element 30 with the end-stop for passive ventilation. To then move closure element 30 toward the flow-blocking position, the current passing through motor 42 may be reversed for a short period of time until a second end-stop (not shown) is engaged. The current passing through motor 42 may then be terminated.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY

The disclosed outerwear clothing article may be useful in many different applications including, among others, skiing, hiking, and hunting applications. In fact, the disclosed outerwear clothing article may be used in any application where automated ventilation can improve the ease of the associated activity and/or the comfort level of the wearer. Operation of outerwear clothing article 10 will now be described in detail.

During initial use of outerwear clothing article 10, closure element 30 of vent 26 may initially be in its flow-blocking position. As an energy expenditure level of the wearer of outerwear clothing article 10 begins to increase, a body temperature of the wearer may also increase in a proportional manner. At this time, sensor 40 may generate a signal indicative of the temperature within outer shells 12, 20 and communicate this signal to controller 36.

Controller 36 may selectively activate actuator 34 and/or fan 50 based on the signal from sensor 40. In particular, controller 36 may compare the signal from sensor 40 with one or more threshold values and, based on the comparison, activate actuator 34 to move closure element 30 to its flow-passing position. For example, when the signal indicates a temperature within outer shell 12 above a desired threshold temperature, controller 36 may activate actuator 34 to move closure element 30 to the flow-passing position. In some embodiments, controller 36 may also activate actuator 34 to drive fan 50 when the temperature within outer shell 12 is above the desired threshold temperature. Alternatively, controller 36 may only activate actuator 34 to drive fan 50 only when the temperature within outer shell 12, as indicated by the signal from sensor 40, is above a second higher threshold temperature. In other words, controller 36 may implement a multi-stage cooling process, wherein vent 26 is used alone during a first stage to passively cool outwear clothing article 10 when the temperature within outer shell 12 is at a first level, and vent 26 and fan 50 are used together during a second stage to actively cool outerwear clothing article 10 when the temperature within outer shell 12 is at a higher second level.

In some embodiments, different vents 26 may work together to reduce the temperatures within outer shell 12. For example, based on signals from one or more sensors 40, fans 50 of one or more vents 26 may be driven to draw air into outer shell 12, while fans 50 of other vents 26 may be driven in a reverse direction to push air out of outer shell 12. In this manner, a flow of air may be generated through outer shell 12 that improves circulation and cooling within outerwear clothing article 10.

After cooling for a period of time, the signal from sensor 40 may indicate a lower temperature within outer shell 12. Based on a comparison of the signal from sensor 40 with the same or another threshold temperatures, controller 36 may selectively cause actuator 34 to stop driving fan 50 and/or to rotate closure element 30 to its flow-blocking position.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made to the outwear clothing article of the present disclosure without departing from the scope of the disclosure. Other embodiments will be apparent to those skilled in the art from consideration of the specification and practice of the embodiments disclosed herein. For example, it is contemplated that operation of vent 26, such as operation of fan 50 and/or movement of closure element 32 may be manually controlled (e.g., turned on/off or adjusted for temperature, vent opening amount, and/or fan speed), if desired, through an interface (not shown) associated with controller 36. It is also contemplated that a heating element (not shown) may optionally be associated with vent 26 and selectively activated based on the signals from sensor 40. It is intended that the specification and examples be considered as exemplary only, with a true scope of the disclosure being indicated by the following claims. 

What is claimed is:
 1. An outerwear clothing article, comprising: an outer shell; at least one vent forming a passage through the outer shell and having a closure element movable between a first position at which flow through the vent is substantially unrestricted and a second position at which flow through the vent is restricted by the closure element; a sensor configured to generate a signal indicative of a temperature inside the outer shell; and an actuator controllable to move the closure element between the first and second positions based on the signal.
 2. The outerwear clothing article of claim 1, further including a controller in communication with the sensor and the actuator, the controller being configured to receive the signal and responsively control the actuator.
 3. The outerwear clothing article of claim 2, wherein the controller is configured to control the actuator to move the closure element from the second position toward the first position when the signal indicates a temperature within the outer shell above a threshold temperature.
 4. The outerwear clothing article of claim 1, wherein: the outer shell forms a portion of a coat; and the at least one vent is located in at least one of an upper chest area, a lower back area, and a torsal-side area of the coat.
 5. The outerwear clothing article of claim 1, wherein the at least one vent includes multiple vents forming multiple passages through the outer shell.
 6. The outerwear clothing article of claim 5, wherein: a first of the multiple vents is located at a first side of the outerwear clothing article; and a second of the multiple vents is located at a second side of the outerwear clothing article opposite the first side.
 7. The outerwear clothing article of claim 6, wherein: the outer shell forms a portion of a coat; the first vent is located at a chest area of the coat; and the second vent is located at a lower back area of the coat.
 8. The outerwear clothing article of claim 1, wherein: the outer shell forms a portion of pants; and the vent is located at a back-of-the-knee area of the pants.
 9. The outerwear clothing article of claim 1, further including at least one fan associated with the at least one vent and driven by the actuator, activation of the fan being controllable based on the signal to generate flow through the at least one vent.
 10. The outerwear clothing article of claim 9, wherein: the at least one vent includes a plurality of vents; the at least one fan includes a plurality of fans associated with the plurality of vents; at least one of the plurality of fans is configured to draw air into the outer shell; and at least one of the plurality of fans is configured to push air out of the outer shell.
 11. The outerwear clothing article of claim 9, further including a battery configured to power the actuator and the at least one fan.
 12. The outerwear clothing article of claim 11, wherein the at least one vent forms at least a partial housing for the sensor, the actuator, the at least one fan, and the battery.
 13. The outerwear clothing article of claim 1, wherein the closure element of the at least one vent is rotatable relative to an outer cover between the first and second positions.
 14. A method of cooling an outerwear clothing article, comprising: generating a signal indicative of a temperature within an outer shell of the outerwear clothing article; and automatically opening at least one vent in the outer shell based on the signal.
 15. The method of claim 14, wherein automatically opening the at least one vent in the outer shell based on the signal includes automatically opening the at least one vent when the signal indicates a temperature within the outer shell above a desired threshold temperature.
 16. The method of claim 14, wherein automatically opening the at least one vent includes activating an electric motor.
 17. The method of claim 16, wherein: the at least one vent includes multiple vents forming multiple passages through the outer shell; and automatically opening the at least one vent includes: opening at least one of the multiple vents located at a first side of the outerwear clothing article; and opening at least one of the multiple vents located at a second side of the outerwear clothing article.
 18. The method of claim 17, further including driving with the electric motor at least one fan associated with the at least one vent based on the signal.
 19. The method of claim 18, wherein driving at least one fan includes: driving at least a first of the multiple fans to draw air into the outer shell; and driving at least a second of the multiple fans to push air out of the outer shell.
 20. A coat, comprising: an outer shell forming an upper body portion having a front and a back, a left sleeve connected to a first side of the upper body portion between the front and the back, and a right sleeve connected to a second side of the upper body portion between the front and the back; at least two vents disposed within the outer shell at spaced apart locations in the upper body portion and forming at least two passages through the outer shell, each of the at least two vents having a closure element movable between a first position at which flow through each of the at least two vents is substantially unrestricted and a second position at which flow through each of the at least two vents is restricted by the closure element; at least two fans associated with the at least two vents, a first of the at least two fans configured to draw air into the outer shell and a second of the at least two fans configured to push air out of the outer shell; at least two actuators controllable to move the closure elements of the at least two vents between the first and second positions and drive the at least two fans; a sensor configured to generate a signal indicative of a temperature inside the outer shell; and a controller in communication with the at least two actuators, and the sensor, the controller being configured to selectively cause the at least two actuators to move the closure elements and drive the at least two fans when the signal indicates the temperature inside the outer shell above a desired threshold temperature. 